Blogger: Rachel Kent
During some conference appointments, I’ve heard authors say that they didn’t work very hard on their title because they’ve heard that the publishing house will change it anyway. It is true that the title is frequently changed by the publisher, but there’s good reason to put some effort into the title even when you’re trying to find representation or a publishing home for your book.
When I read query letters, one of the first items that jumps off the page for me is the title of the book. I don’t stop reading the query at the title, but a poor title might sway me to feel negatively about a project even when the book is great. The most common issue I see is titles that don’t match the genre of the writing. Other times authors will just use the main character’s name as a title. Rarely are books published with a name as the title, so it’s best to try to think of something more creative that has to do with the plot.
Even though a title might not be used on the final product, it still gives the publishing house an idea of what kind of title you’d like to see on your cover, and it can start the brainstorming off in the right direction. For example, the original title on Sarah Sundin’s book A Distant Melody was Better than Sacrifice. Both of these titles are three word titles with a similar rhythm. Her title idea of Better than Sacrifice set the title “tone” for all of her following books as well. If she had come to the publishing house with a book called Allie Miller (main character’s name), it would have been harder for everyone to get to the right title.
I’ll put a little disclaimer in here. Some books do very well with just a first name as the title. For example, Christy by Catherine Marshall. There’s no hard and fast rule to find the right title, but it’s a great idea to put some thought into the title instead of throwing one on the book with hopes that the publishing house will find the title for you. Your work on the title will be a great starting place for the titling committee when they meet to discuss your book.
What tools do you use to come up with your title?
How do you start your title brainstorm?
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I’ve found titling a very interesting subject. Titles are usually hard for me to pin down, and I do put a lot of thought into them. My debut novel ending up being titled by the main character’s name. Or one of her names. It was going to be called WILLA for awhile, then was changed to BURNING SKY, which was my favorite of the two. What was my original title? Something very different: The Quiet in the Land.
I like to pull a quote from scripture for titles when I can, but I keep a running list of words or phrases that evoke theme, plot, setting, and mood, and a long list of possible titles created from those words, for each WIP.
BURNING SKY just captures SO much of your novel, Lori. I love it and think it’s totally perfect!
I’ve heard that titles are often changed, so it’s interesting to hear your take on the importance of a writer creating his/her own title. For the two books I’ve worked on, my titles have been two words each. 🙂 Not sure why. I’ve also discovered titling a book isn’t my strength, so I usually end up brainstorming with a friend, who IS good at this.
For starting my title brainstorm, I write down ideas that go with the theme I think my book will be about. And, I talk with said friend above. 🙂
I have a group of go-to friends who help me brainstorm titles. They are great at coming up with word-plays on themes in my books!
Funny, Rachel. I did a blog about this in July, called The Name Game ( http://nlbhorton.com/the-name-game/ ). It’s a good thing it takes nine months to produce a child, because it took us that long to choose a name for each of our two now-grown children.
Naming a manuscript is almost as hard, and I keep a running list while I’m working on the content to evaluate at the end. It’s like a marketing branstroming session where I write ANYTHING that comes to mind, regardless of how ridiculous. (And believe me, some of these ideas are RI-DI-CU-LOUS.)
It’s a good thing publishing is a slow process… NLBH
giving my stories a title is my least favourite part of writing. because i am so terrible at it, for the three books i have finished i have relied on primary sources or works of literature pertaining to the part of history i am writing about to extract quotes i can use as relevant titles. this way, i am pulling people into the historical setting before they even turn the first page
Very, very smart tactic, Rachel. NLBH
Rachel, I love all your titles! They’re beautiful.
I love LOVE titling things! One thing I’ve found is that when I’m unsure which title is the catchiest, I ask my FB author page followers/readers. They always, by an overwhelming majority, choose the most marketable title. Never underestimate the power of your reader peeps! And I like coming up with titles that will flow well in a series.
That’s a great idea! And since you love titling so much, I’m coming to you next time I’m stuck. 🙂
Carla, bring it! Glad to brainstorm with you!
I am so glad somebody LOVES titling. That’s a gift! 🙂 And great idea to ask on Facebook.
Titles are so hard since, as you said, Rachel, they are often the first words to catch someone’s eye. I love titles that are a bit of a quote, as Rachel mentioned. I don’t usually have a title when I start writing, but as I think about the theme and how it is revealed in the story, I begin to brainstorm.
How fun! I popped over as I always do – and there’s my title 🙂 I struggle over titles. Struggle. I’ll land on a title, and a week later it sounds hokey or weird. “Better Than Sacrifice” came to me with a rush – I was reading 1 Samuel, saw the verse, realized it encapsulated the theme for the story – and it had a catchy little phrase for a title.
But I’m glad Revell didn’t go with it. The word “sacrifice” didn’t sit well with lots of people. It’s a bit obscure. It doesn’t really sound romantic.
I learned so much about titling from the brainstorming session Rachel and I had trying to come up with an alternate title – we must have had 20-30 titles on the list. Key things I learned – looking for key words that evoke the feel of the story – and not getting married to your title 🙂
By the way, folks…”A Distant Melody” was Rachel’s contribution, and I still love it.
“A Distant Melody…”
Reminds me of a Mitsuda piece, which is always good. Really evocative title (and song).
Glad you like it, Larry! 🙂 Thanks.
Oh gosh, titles and taglines are so hard for me. Some come naturally, but most don’t. I often ask my critique group to help me brainstorm.
Does anyone feel that their title influences their ideas for cover art, or after getting cover art feel that their title should be changed?
Since those are the two things readers will notice about ones’ book, I always wondered about how other writers go about the interplay between the two.
Great question! I bet that an early title does influence the direction of a cover. Does anyone have an example?
Quite often the title and the ending will come to me first and I try to tie them in together, especially in short stories. Sometimes they’re Scripture, i.e., “Such As I Have.” Sometimes related to the article, ie., an article on water beds was titled “Water, Water Everywhere–But Not a Drop to Drink.” A travel article on Yuma, Arizona–which started out with the fact that Yuma was a gate which swung into Arizona for people from California and into California for people from Arizona, then told about its history and its present-day industries–was called Yuma, the Swinging Gate, and ended with the words, “Yuma not only swings into California and Arizona, but swings into the past with pride and into the future with confidence.” Scripture Press did change the name of a teen story from “A Gift for Danny” to “Tank the Terrible,” which was much better!
Such an interesting way to think about this, Rachel. My debut novel actually went to print under the title I pitched to the publisher (which was not its working title, I might add). In contrast, two of the three titles in my upcoming fantasy series were changed. I like the new ones much more, but I never realized until now that the new titles have the same feel and rhythm as the originals!
I’m with Heater in LOVING to come up with titles. And I got to keep the one for my first novel–Miracle in a Dry Season. I try not to get super attached, but the title really makes me feel like I’ve got a firm grip on the book.
I LOVE your title too, Sarah! I know your book is going to be amazing. I will add that series titles are a bit trickier…you’re trying to capture that essence of SEVERAL books. I just now finally figured out the Viking series title. “Vikings of the New World” sounded good until you add “SERIES” on the end (Vikings of the New World SERIES?! HEE). Now it’s Vikings of the New World SAGA and that flows better. Mostly series names are just a descriptor for Amazon searches, I think. Do you have a series title yet, Sarah? Or is each book a stand-alone?
I don’t have a hard and fast rule about creating a title, but I do like to check on Amazon in case it’s been used before. I want to see all of what will come up if someone were to search that title.
Connie,
Great suggsetions! Love ya, sister!
J.
I love thinking up titles! Now whether they do make it to my book cover one day I don’t know.
But I have fun with them. I write a lot of combinations down of words that remind me of the story and start arranging and re-arranging. 🙂
Working on my first novel, I realized I have to have a cover image and title in mind before I can type the first word. I’m not married to them, but it really helps me to decide the feel of the entire book. Of course, I’ve already changed it once and I’m only halfway done writing the book — one of the chapter titles leapt out at me and claimed its rightful place on the cover.
Just some thoughts: Coming up with the best possible working title you can is vital to making a good first impression. Like you said, Rachel, the name of the main character slapped on a MS would look like the writer took the easy way out.
And as you pointed out, titles based on a well-known quote really do seem to resonate with readers, especially if a Bible verse.
I’ve found the cozy mystery genre, which is what I presently write, uses a lot of word-play titles. These can be lots of fun to noodle! My own WIP is titled DEAD DOC, which I admit took me a while to devise.
Thanks for your post!
Lookin’ up,
J.
Rachel, for years I have wanted to call a Christian memoir Jot, Tittle and Whit(t) since each word means “the least bit” or “an iota.” After I acquired my married surname, Whitt, I began to ponder that in his Sermon on the Mount Jesus is quoted as saying, “For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” (KJV Matthew 5:18)
I took the liberty of including Whit(t) in my working title since whit also means “a particle” or “a bit.”
But all of that was long ago. A few mornings ago I was on an outdoor walk when “Whitt’s Tidbits” came into my mind. Was God telling me that it is time to get on with my Whitt story?
Interesting discussion, Rachel. Thanks for getting it started.
Just for the interest of the readers of this blog, my first title was changed by the publisher–mainly because it didn’t show the novel had a medical flavor. Since then, I worked hard to choose titles that had the same cadence and flavor as prior ones, and that indicated the nature of the book. All those books (coming up on #6) have been published under the titles I submitted.
I like to write down words that come to mind as I think about the story. I end up with a sheet of paper filled with random words and I try putting them together in groups to see what sticks. Then I run the best ones by my crit group. I also try to consider the names of titles that should appear on the shelf with mine . . . and I imagine a book club discussing my book and passing the title on to their friends. Adrianama Dostinshevsky would be difficult to recommend. Russian Backstroke might be a little easier. (those are not my titles . . . just thinking up examples) 🙂
Jennifer, I love your idea of writing down words on a page and exploring combinations.
For my current WIP, I thought about some major elements in the story. Dragons are vital to the plot, so I wanted to have the word “dragon” in the title (also, its a fantasy book and I think many of us fantasy fans are drawn to anything with the word “dragon” in it). Another element was call and seduction. Finally, there was the main character’s need to follow her heartsong. So I came up with the title Music of Dragons (I don’t remember having any other titles for this story. I liked it, but I’m partial to dragons, as I said, and I love music, so I tested the title out on Twitter. On my #fantasyquest feature, I asked for feedback on the title and got lots of enthusiasm back from people, so I’m sticking with it until an agent or publisher tells me to change it.
My other manuscript, an adult psychological mystery, has gone through three titles. The first was a tremendously mundane title: Biography of a Friendship. After restructuring the plot to somewhat imitate the frequent dissociative episodes of one of the two main characters, I changed the title to Fragments, a title which I very much liked since it related to the story and to the character on a few different levels. However, at one point I did a Google search and found a ton of books and blogs called “Fragments,” so I sadly set to coming up with another title. Ultimately, this had a happy result. I still wanted to keep the idea of fragments in the title, but I changed the idea to a verb. The book’s new title is Shattering the Moonfish. I like the title because people I’ve shared it with have been intrigued by it. The fragmentation element remains and Moonfish symbolizes the relationship between the two main characters. Unfortunately, I don’t know if that story will ever be published. Since the two books are entirely different genres, I had to make a decision which one to work at publishing. I already have the plots for three more books to follow Music of Dragons whereas I can imagine trying to write another book like Shattering the Moonfish (I think it’s the only psychological mystery I have in me). So I made the decision to journey down the YA fantasy path–and based on the joy I’ve gotten in writing Music of Dragons and in creating the world that will continue in other stories, I think I’ve made the right choice.
I LOVE Shattering the Moonfish! VERY intriguing, Christine!
Thanks so much, Heather! 🙂
I took writing as an adult student in university.
By then, I was already published in many different small press magazines. I wasn’t exactly what you would call a successful writer – but I kept myself busy.
Still – I decided that if I was going back to university I certainly was going to take a few creative writing courses because – hey, you can always learn something.
The courses were primarily workshop oriented – in that we would each write a story and take turns critiquing each story. The prof would critique EVERY story – so there were many spoons in the pot.
Three of the students in this particular class hated titles. In fact, they generally titled their creations “Poem” or “story” or “My Work”.
I didn’t get it then and I do not get it now.
I absolutely LOVE coming up with titles.
I’ve got a novella named “Plague Monkey Spam”.
A novel named “Tatterdemon”.
A novella named “Long Horn, Big Shaggy – a Tale of Wild West Terror and Reanimated Buffalo”.
A middle grade novel named “Sinking Deeper – my questionable (possibly heroic) decision to invent a sea monster”.
Heck, I even wrote a story based on the sound of a title that I had come up – just by putting two very interesting words together – “Flensing Viscera”
A title is a flag that your stories fly.
Heck, somebody ought to write an anthem to well-crafted titles.
I recently blogged that the title contains the most important words an author will write for the entire book. Even if the publisher changes the title, the original title will either help or hinder the book as it’s being pitched.
Side note: I was working on a tag line for my current WIP. When I stumbled upon the perfect words, I realized it would make for a killer subtitle. (So, that means I’m still looking for a tag line.)
It is so difficult coming up with a title that fits the book … but definitely worth the effort. I agree with you, Rachel: whether it should or not, sometimes a title makes or breaks a book for me even before I begin to read it. Thanks for the post!
Interesting post and discussion. I’m struggling with the title of my first novel right now. The working title (which I’d grown attached to) I find has been used by other authors. Do you see a plus or minus to this?
I’m playing around with other titles that pick up on themes of the book and capture the core conflict. I’m not good at this, so when I get a few titles that I think have promise, I’ll put them out to my FB group friends for comment.
I had no trouble coming up with titles for my non-fiction books “Tough Plants in a Fragile Land–Saving our Planet one Garden at a Time” and “I Killed a Penguin-an ecological memoir”. For my novel “The Invisible Wall” I’ve done a lot of brain-storming with my writers’ group and am still not sure if it resonates.
Fritzie
I’m curious if anyone knows of a title generator online somewhere. Maybe something that you could plug in a couple of the plot’s elements and then be given some title ideas? I’ve got one now that is really besting me. No idea what this book will be called!
I like to find titles in a significant bit of dialogue or a significant phrase in the novel. An added bonus is the reader’s delight when he/she finds the title in the story. Like finding an Easter egg!
I have read every word in the response. Interesting! My present book being debuted is titled, ‘Frank Hawthorn is…Blindsided.’
That book has had 7 titles since 2006. I have other books that have a title which is the only word for them, such as, ‘The Vessel.’
The whole story is about this one thing, a pot, or spit-tomb that is a vessel. The only deal, it is made of gold, lots of gold.
Your point has been made, the title is very important, to the writer, as well as the reader.
Regards,
James M. Copeland
What do you think of “In the beginning” for a novel taking place in Ancient Israel at the time of Abraham? I researched and did not find it for a novel.